How a Montgomery County eviction differs from the rest of Maryland
The case itself is a state case. You still serve the 10-day notice on the Judiciary’s form, file in District Court, wait 7 days after judgment for the warrant, and the tenant can still redeem by paying before the eviction. Our Maryland eviction process guide covers those steps and the statute behind each one.
What the county changes is the end of the case and the economics around it. Expedited Bill 31-25 stretched the notice of the eviction date from the state’s 6 days to 14 and added a filing with DHCA. The Sheriff’s Eviction Section sets strict rules for eviction day. And Bill 15-23, the rent stabilization law, limits rent on most older buildings, so an eviction no longer resets a unit to market.
Which District Court hears your case?
Montgomery County rent cases go to the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County, which hears landlord-tenant cases at two courthouses: 191 East Jefferson Street in Rockville and 8552 Second Avenue in Silver Spring. Neither holds jury trials. The location on your summons controls, so read it before you show up with your ledger.
File the failure to pay rent complaint on form DC-CV-082 after the 10-day notice runs. DHCA’s Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs reminds owners that the complaint needs a current county rental facility license number, and buildings put up before 1978 also need the Maryland Department of the Environment lead registration and certificate number. Maryland law requires you to plead and prove the license (RP § 8-406).
The county’s 14-day notice and the DHCA copy
Montgomery County requires at least 14 days’ written notice to the tenant of a scheduled eviction. The County Council passed Expedited Bill 31-25 unanimously on December 8, 2025, using the local option that Maryland’s 2025 law (HB 767) created when it set a 6-day statewide floor and let counties go as high as 14. The bill also requires you to send DHCA notice of the date and time, so the county and its homelessness services office can reach the household first.
The Sheriff’s Eviction Section now tells landlords to follow both RP § 8-407 and County Code Chapter 29, § 29-31A. Its checklist for the notice is specific, and missing paperwork will likely cancel the eviction.
- Case number, tenant name and the address of the premises
- Date of the court order and the initial eviction date
- Your contact information as the landlord
- A statement that this is the final notice even if the eviction is stayed
- The amount needed to redeem, if the tenant has that right under RP § 8-401(h)
- The required warning that belongings left in the home could be lost, with referrals to 211 and the District Court Help Center
- Proof for the deputies: a certificate of mailing, a timestamped photo of the notice on the front door and a signed affidavit from whoever posted it
Scheduling the Montgomery County Sheriff
Call the Sheriff’s Eviction Section at 240-777-7130 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. to schedule a warrant of restitution, and leave your name, case number, address and call-back number if no one answers. Evictions run Monday through Friday, take about an hour each and never happen on weekends or holidays.
The warrant expires if you take no action within 60 days of the court order date or any extended date. The judgment is then stricken, and it can count toward ending the tenant’s right of redemption. Get the scheduling call in early.
What the Sheriff expects on eviction day
Eviction day takes real planning in this county. You or an authorized agent must be there with keys or access codes, and you must bring a moving crew big enough for the unit. Deputies don’t help remove property, and if your resources are thin the eviction is rescheduled.
Bring heavy-duty bags, boxes and tools to take furniture apart, and a box truck if belongings have to travel to the nearest public space. If keys or codes aren’t available, a locksmith has to be there too. When it’s done, deputies post or hand over a red and white Notice of Repossession of Premises.
| Unit type | Minimum crew | Also required |
|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom apartment | 8 people | Bags, boxes, tools |
| Two-bedroom apartment | 10 people | Bags, boxes, tools |
| Three-bedroom apartment | 12 people | Box truck if needed |
| Townhome | 15 people | Locksmith if no keys |
| Single-family detached | 20 people | Locksmith if no keys |
Weather stays the Sheriff applies
State law already pauses evictions in extreme weather. The Montgomery County Sheriff spells out its own triggers, and it can also reschedule based on overall conditions, so build a few spare days into any winter timeline.
- Rain falling or forecast during the eviction
- 32°F or below at the scheduled time, or forecast for that time the next day
- A National Weather Service winter storm or blizzard warning
- A hurricane or tropical storm warning
- An excessive heat warning
Rent stabilization and what happens after the eviction
Many Montgomery County apartments have been under rent stabilization since Bill 15-23 took effect on July 23, 2024. The yearly cap is CPI-U for the Washington area plus 3%, or 6%, whichever is lower. It was 5.7% for July 2025 through June 2026, and the county set it at 5.2% from July 1, 2026, based on CPI-U of 2.2%. Unused increases bank to the unit, but no increase can exceed 10% of base rent.
The cap applies at renewal and when a new lease is signed, so evicting a tenant doesn’t open the door to a market reset on a regulated unit. Increases need 90 days’ written notice by mail or in person with a signed receipt, and every new lease and renewal rent must be registered with DHCA. A property listed as Troubled or At-Risk can’t raise rent at all.
Some buildings are outside the law. Units are exempt until the 23rd year after the year built, so a building finished in 2004 becomes stabilized on January 1, 2027. Rentals inside Rockville, Gaithersburg and Takoma Park are also exempt from the county program, along with units under income-restricted regulatory agreements and owners with two or fewer county units.
Montgomery County eviction timeline at a glance
These are the minimum steps in a nonpayment case where the tenant doesn’t appear or redeem.
| Step | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| 10-day notice on the Judiciary form | 10 days to cure | RP § 8-401(c) |
| File DC-CV-082 with license number | After the notice runs | RP §§ 8-401, 8-406 |
| Trial in Rockville or Silver Spring | Fifth day after filing | RP § 8-401(b) |
| Request warrant of restitution | 7 days after judgment | RP § 8-401(f) |
| Act on the warrant | Within 60 days of the order | RP § 8-401(f) |
| Notice to tenant and DHCA | At least 14 days before eviction | County Code § 29-31A; Bill 31-25 |
| Eviction with crew and locksmith | Weekday set by the Sheriff | Sheriff Eviction Section rules |
Worked example: a $2,100 two-bedroom in Silver Spring
Assume a two-bedroom in a 30-unit Silver Spring building rents for $2,100 a month, or $69.04 a day, and the unit is rent stabilized. Rent due on day 0 isn’t paid, and you mail the 10-day notice on day 1. Assume $650 for an attorney and $800 for a ten-person crew and truck for the two-bedroom.
You file on day 11, trial is day 16 and the tenant defaults. On day 23 you request the warrant, reach the Sheriff and send the 14-day notice to the tenant and DHCA the same day. The earliest eviction date is day 37, assuming no weather stay and an open slot on the Sheriff’s calendar.
Lost rent for 37 days comes to $2,555. Add the attorney and the crew and the total is $4,005. On re-leasing, the 2026-27 cap of 5.2% lets the new rent rise by at most $109.20, to $2,209.20, plus any banked amount, so the eviction itself doesn’t recover the loss through a higher rent.
| Item | Days or rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Daily rent at $2,100 a month | $69.04 a day | |
| Lost rent, due date to eviction | 37 days | $2,555 |
| Assumed attorney fee | $650 | |
| Assumed crew and truck | 10 people | $800 |
| Total, minimum county path | $4,005 | |
| Largest 2026-27 increase on re-lease | 5.2% | $109.20 a month |
Settlement options that beat a Sheriff date
Montgomery County tenants who receive a failure to pay rent notice may qualify for county emergency assistance with past-due rent, so a short delay for an assistance application can get you paid faster than a contested case. DHCA’s Office of Landlord-Tenant Affairs can also mediate.
If the tenant simply can’t stay, cash for keys avoids the crew bill and the 14-day notice altogether. A written agreement with a move-out date and a payment released at key handover is usually cheaper than the $4,005 path above.
Selling a Montgomery County apartment building with tenants in place
You can sell mid-case. The leases and any pending case pass to the buyer, so disclose notices, judgments, warrant dates and the DHCA filing. Under rent stabilization, a buyer will also want the registered rents, any banked amounts, the stabilization status of each unit and tenant estoppel certificates.
Skyline Capital Investments buys apartment buildings with five or more units in Montgomery County and across Maryland, with tenants in place and in any condition, including stabilized buildings and ones with cases in District Court. Send the address and unit count through the form on this page or call (469) 660-2977. We typically respond within 48 hours.
